YSU's poor shooting is downfall

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The Penguins made only nine baskets in each half in an 80-64 loss to UIC.

CHICAGO — The University of Illinois-Chicago got off to a hot start, making two of every three shots in the first half, and went on to defeat Youngstown State, 80-64, in the Horizon League men's basketball opener Saturday.

The Flames (4-4, 1-0 HL), who have won three of their last four games, made 18-of-27 shots from the floor to open a 44-23 lead at halftime.

Youngstown State (2-6, 0-1) held its own on the boards — the Penguins had a 36-34 edge in rebounds — and taking care of the ball, committing just 11 turnovers. But the Penguins were done in by poor shooting. They shot just 34 percent for the game (18-of-53) and made only nine baskets in each half.

YSU was 23-of-32 at the foul line.

Humphrey leads with 18

Quin Humphrey scored 18 points to lead the Penguins, but he was held to just two in the first half.

Keston Roberts added 14 points and he shared team-high honors in rebounds with Byron Davis (six each).

Othyus Jeffers paced the Flames with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Danijel Zoric added 15 points. Jovan Stefanov and Josh Mayo finished with 14 point each, and Mayo also had six assists.

Illinois-Chicago took its largest lead of the game, 57-35, with 13:52 remaining, but YSU got the margin down to 15 with a 3 by Roberts with 6:32 remaining. That's as close as the Penguins would get.

UIC scored the first nine points of the game and held an 18-3 lead on Zoric's basket with 14:14 remaining.

Zoric finished with 11 first-half points off the bench, including 10 straight midway through.

The Penguins play host to Lock Haven at 11:05 a.m. Tuesday. The game was scheduled to allow 3,000 students in the Youngstown City Schools to attend the game. The students were chosen based on their attendance; students must have an attendance rate of at least 95 percent.

Sunday, December 3, 2006